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Millions of Christians have left the church since 1960. Why? Today's church
behaves more like a Greek theater than a living organism. It's members go
to church when they should "be" the church. These spectators are wearied
from fighting, wasting money and trying to fulfill a pastor's vision. Most
Christians just want "out" assuming there is no alternative. They just want to
cut and run. They leave intending to never again darken a church door, but
soon realize they are missing "the" church. Still believing in G-d, His Son,
Yeshua, G-d's Word and the power of His Spirit, they wander and search for
something real. They have been made sick from the church competing with
itself. They only wanted relationship, not membership; ministry, not
programs; Shepard's, not theater managers; Bible, not buildings! Many
church leaders, who recognize that there is a problem, have sought answers
to stem the outward flow of members. Satan, the enemy of G-d, has
destroyed the family in the Western world. Satan has used television, films
and music to take advantage of an increasingly worldly church. The church
has unwittingly aided and abetted Satan. For example, the church
measures faithfulness to G-d by attendance. It says you cannot get into
heaven by attending, but will send anyone to hell for not attending. By
demanding faithful attendance to every program devised by the church, little
or no time is left for the family to be together. Mainline denominations
embrace alternative lifestyles ordaining homosexual priests. If the
foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11) Biblically
we are to be laying the foundations by placing our refuge and trust in G-d.
Don't cut and run, stay the course. Psalm 11:4 The Lord is in his holy
temple. The Lord is on his throne in heaven. He watches all people. His
eyes study them. This verse tells us G-d sees and knows what is going on.
He knows that our churches are filled with those who have made decisions
but are not true converts. People don't want to come to church because the
church looks too much like the world. Jesus didn't cut people slack He told
it like it was because souls were at stake. The bottom line of the Gospel
has not changed we need to repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is here. If
the foundations are destroyed what can the righteous do? We rebuild the
foundation.
Jesus is the chief cornerstone and the Word of G-d the foundation upon
which we build. We don't compromise the truth! We need to know who we
are in Christ, what we believe and why we believe. The church has become
ignorant of the Scriptures. People go to church to hear a sermon, accept it
at face value and never question or dig deeper into what was said. They
are ignorant of the stories and who is who in the Bible, let alone its
principles and precepts. To rebuild the foundations we must rebuild the
family which is the building block of society. Spend time with your children,
get rid of the television, invest in your spouse and martial relationship. The
home should be the center for spiritual growth and parents should be the
teacher's of G-d's Word. Heads of households must be reinstated as
priests in their home. Pastors must develop spiritual maturity in heads of
households one family at a time. Restoring the home as the center of
spiritual growth must move from being an option to being the only plan.
Heads of households must assume the responsibility of their own spiritual
growth. Laziness can no longer to tolerated. Excuses like the classic "I'm
not being fed" must be exposed as spiritual babyhood. G-d is not opposed
to large gatherings of His people. He is not opposed to buildings in which
to meet. He is opposed to groups not patterning their spiritual growth after
His model. He requires obedience to His Word. He requires His Word be
done His way. Deut. 6:6-7 says "these commandments that I give you today
are to be upon your hearts. Impress them upon your children. Talk about
them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie
down and when you get up." This is in contrast to some churches today that
are like the theater and place of make - believe to children. Complete
strangers instruct them and make Bible stories seem like fairy tales. The
preacher and teachers speak Christianese (language used only at church -
justification, salvation, sanctification, born again). As soon as they leave the
church building, they return to reality. When Mom and Dad teach their
children at home Bible lessons take on reality. Children trust parents who
love and nurture them and use everyday language. Something deeply
spiritual happens when families meet in their homes with G-d. Trust,
honesty and love are reinforced in the family. Marriages stay healthier and
children obey out of respect as they watch parents live what they teach.
Most Christians are not pastored they are controlled. The current church
system provides little relationship between the pastors and the
congregates. People say they have a pastor, but when you ask them how
often the pastor is in their home or they in his the response is this pastor is
too busy for that. The plain truth is that most believers have no relationship
with a pastor. They only see him on service days, high and lifted up on a
platform preaching to them. Zech. 11:4 says "this is what the L-rd my G-d
says:" Pasture the flock marked for slaughter. The key word is pasture.
When the job description is changed from pastor (title) to pasture (a
verb/function) what a pastor should do is clearly seen. A pastor is one who
provides pasture for G-d's flock. In John 21:15-17 Jesus said to Peter
"Feed my sheep" Peter repeats the "pasturer" request when he said to the
elders in 1 Peter 5:2 "Be Shepard's of G-d's flock." The Biblical point is that
the main function of a man of G-d is to provide G-d's sheep pasture. The
church has departed from the Biblical model of Shepherd and sheep.
Churches today require being managed rather than being pastored. They
have buildings which must be paid for, kept in repair, cleaned, heated, and
cooled. Pastors are asked to be counselors, public speakers and
administrators. Pastors are so busy, they cannot study G-d's Word. Then
the church members cry "I'm not being fed!" The pastor's job is to equip the
head of households who in turn equip the members of his household for
ministry.
If the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do? We rebuild. The
power of the family is strong. The answer is having your family become the
church. Apostasy, the abandonment of one's faith, principles, or cause has
never been stronger or more wide spread today.
behaves more like a Greek theater than a living organism. It's members go
to church when they should "be" the church. These spectators are wearied
from fighting, wasting money and trying to fulfill a pastor's vision. Most
Christians just want "out" assuming there is no alternative. They just want to
cut and run. They leave intending to never again darken a church door, but
soon realize they are missing "the" church. Still believing in G-d, His Son,
Yeshua, G-d's Word and the power of His Spirit, they wander and search for
something real. They have been made sick from the church competing with
itself. They only wanted relationship, not membership; ministry, not
programs; Shepard's, not theater managers; Bible, not buildings! Many
church leaders, who recognize that there is a problem, have sought answers
to stem the outward flow of members. Satan, the enemy of G-d, has
destroyed the family in the Western world. Satan has used television, films
and music to take advantage of an increasingly worldly church. The church
has unwittingly aided and abetted Satan. For example, the church
measures faithfulness to G-d by attendance. It says you cannot get into
heaven by attending, but will send anyone to hell for not attending. By
demanding faithful attendance to every program devised by the church, little
or no time is left for the family to be together. Mainline denominations
embrace alternative lifestyles ordaining homosexual priests. If the
foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11) Biblically
we are to be laying the foundations by placing our refuge and trust in G-d.
Don't cut and run, stay the course. Psalm 11:4 The Lord is in his holy
temple. The Lord is on his throne in heaven. He watches all people. His
eyes study them. This verse tells us G-d sees and knows what is going on.
He knows that our churches are filled with those who have made decisions
but are not true converts. People don't want to come to church because the
church looks too much like the world. Jesus didn't cut people slack He told
it like it was because souls were at stake. The bottom line of the Gospel
has not changed we need to repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is here. If
the foundations are destroyed what can the righteous do? We rebuild the
foundation.
Jesus is the chief cornerstone and the Word of G-d the foundation upon
which we build. We don't compromise the truth! We need to know who we
are in Christ, what we believe and why we believe. The church has become
ignorant of the Scriptures. People go to church to hear a sermon, accept it
at face value and never question or dig deeper into what was said. They
are ignorant of the stories and who is who in the Bible, let alone its
principles and precepts. To rebuild the foundations we must rebuild the
family which is the building block of society. Spend time with your children,
get rid of the television, invest in your spouse and martial relationship. The
home should be the center for spiritual growth and parents should be the
teacher's of G-d's Word. Heads of households must be reinstated as
priests in their home. Pastors must develop spiritual maturity in heads of
households one family at a time. Restoring the home as the center of
spiritual growth must move from being an option to being the only plan.
Heads of households must assume the responsibility of their own spiritual
growth. Laziness can no longer to tolerated. Excuses like the classic "I'm
not being fed" must be exposed as spiritual babyhood. G-d is not opposed
to large gatherings of His people. He is not opposed to buildings in which
to meet. He is opposed to groups not patterning their spiritual growth after
His model. He requires obedience to His Word. He requires His Word be
done His way. Deut. 6:6-7 says "these commandments that I give you today
are to be upon your hearts. Impress them upon your children. Talk about
them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie
down and when you get up." This is in contrast to some churches today that
are like the theater and place of make - believe to children. Complete
strangers instruct them and make Bible stories seem like fairy tales. The
preacher and teachers speak Christianese (language used only at church -
justification, salvation, sanctification, born again). As soon as they leave the
church building, they return to reality. When Mom and Dad teach their
children at home Bible lessons take on reality. Children trust parents who
love and nurture them and use everyday language. Something deeply
spiritual happens when families meet in their homes with G-d. Trust,
honesty and love are reinforced in the family. Marriages stay healthier and
children obey out of respect as they watch parents live what they teach.
Most Christians are not pastored they are controlled. The current church
system provides little relationship between the pastors and the
congregates. People say they have a pastor, but when you ask them how
often the pastor is in their home or they in his the response is this pastor is
too busy for that. The plain truth is that most believers have no relationship
with a pastor. They only see him on service days, high and lifted up on a
platform preaching to them. Zech. 11:4 says "this is what the L-rd my G-d
says:" Pasture the flock marked for slaughter. The key word is pasture.
When the job description is changed from pastor (title) to pasture (a
verb/function) what a pastor should do is clearly seen. A pastor is one who
provides pasture for G-d's flock. In John 21:15-17 Jesus said to Peter
"Feed my sheep" Peter repeats the "pasturer" request when he said to the
elders in 1 Peter 5:2 "Be Shepard's of G-d's flock." The Biblical point is that
the main function of a man of G-d is to provide G-d's sheep pasture. The
church has departed from the Biblical model of Shepherd and sheep.
Churches today require being managed rather than being pastored. They
have buildings which must be paid for, kept in repair, cleaned, heated, and
cooled. Pastors are asked to be counselors, public speakers and
administrators. Pastors are so busy, they cannot study G-d's Word. Then
the church members cry "I'm not being fed!" The pastor's job is to equip the
head of households who in turn equip the members of his household for
ministry.
If the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do? We rebuild. The
power of the family is strong. The answer is having your family become the
church. Apostasy, the abandonment of one's faith, principles, or cause has
never been stronger or more wide spread today.
| Millions Leaving the Church: Why? By Rabbi Esther Boucher |
| Ministry of Gates of Praise Ministries, Inc. © Copyright Gates of Praise Ministries 2007 |